In many conventional communication networks that include wireless and/or wireline communication paths, message integrity checks generally depend on the route taken by the message. This introduces significant processing discrepancies and distinct layer-level violations, which may have an adverse affect of making higher-level layer operations dependent on lower-level functions. In many wireless networks, system components at each level generally do not have knowledge of other levels, making the design overly complex. As a result, handing off between access points and securely associating with another access point can be time-consuming and less secure.
Thus, there are general needs for methods for fast roaming that can provide integrity protection and source authentication in wireless networks. There are also general needs for methods for fast roaming that can provide integrity protection and source authentication in wireless networks without distinct layer-level violations.